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  An 18-year-old student from Anderson Junior College fell into a river and drowned while trekking through the jungle near Kota Tinggi in Johor on Saturday. According to the Malaysian town's police, her name was WONG May Chen. She was among 24 young people in an expedition, believed to be organised by a community centre, bound for Kota Tinggi waterfall, located 56 km north-east of Johor Baru and 12 km from the town. Straits Times 31 Dec 2001)(3)

  NTU trainee teacher TANG Jie Ru, 20, died at Changi General Hospital yesterday after being run down by a bus just two blocks from her flat in Block 420, Tampines Street 41. Police said that Miss TANG was at a pedestrian crossing at about 7.30pm when an SBS Transit bus, which was making a turn into the road, hit her. The driver of the SBS Service 28, a 45-year-old woman, has been suspended from work. (Straits Times 28 Dec 2001)(3)

  The starting pay of new graduates has fallen by as much as 30 per cent, with some being offered as little as S$1,100 a month, as the job squeeze worsens. The worst hit are those with general degrees. Their starting pay now ranges from S$1,400 to S$1,800, compared to S$1,800 to S$2,200 a year earlier. Early figures from the National University of Singapore (NUS) released to The Straits Times showed that 39 per cent of its new graduates had not found jobs. Among the arts and social science graduates, more than 4 in every 10 are jobless. In all 1,571 graduates responded to the poll. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said in September that 30 to 40 per cent of its 2001 graduates were still looking for jobs. Manpower Ministry figures show that about 16,500 Singaporeans with tertiary education were jobless in September. (Straits Times 24 Dec 2001) (H3) 

  St Anthony's Canossian student Vanessa LEE Siow Hui, 17, is the top student in this year's Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N' Level examination. She scored seven distinctions. (Straits Times 20 Dec 2001) (4) See also GCE 'N' Level Exam 2001 Results

  A record 1,408 Institute of Technical Education (ITE) alumni enrolled in the four polytechnics this year. Of these, 754 are full-time students and 654 are studying part-time. The total is some 20 per cent more than last year's 1,182, the ITE said recently. (Straits Times 19 Dec 2001)(H9)

  A new chemical institute, the Institute for Chemical Science, will be built on Jurong Island next year. Two chemical research centres hosted at the National University of Singapore (NUS) - the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering and the Chemical and Process Engineering Centre - will become part of the new institute. (Straits Times 19 Dec 2001)(H4)

  Fourteen boys, aged 14 to 19, were charged in two separate courts yesterday with attacking schoolboy WONG Wei-En, 15, and his four friends at a bus-stop near a hawker centre in Circuit Road. They were accused of forming an unlawful assembly to cause hurt, and using a hammer and a knife during the alleged attack on the five boys, aged between 13 and 16. (Straits Times 19 Dec 2001) (H1)

  Police yesterday arrested 13 teenagers, aged between 14 and 19, yesterday after WONG Wei-En, 15, was savagely attacked with hammers on Saturday while riding an SBS bus with four friends. Police revealed that the five boys met the 13 youths at Blk 52 in Circuit Road to discuss an earlier assault involving Wei-En and a fellow schoolmate of Manjusri Secondary. Things turned sour and the 13 youths attacked the five boys who dashed across the road and boarded SBS Transit Service 135 at the bus-stop near Macpherson Primary School. (Straits Times 17 Dec 2001)(1) 

  Yesterday, private tutor Mark Astill, 37, a married man, pleaded guilty to two charges of molest and was jailed for two years. Mark, a British national and a permanent resident here, molested his victims - two girls both six years old - while teaching them English in his Woodlands flat early this year. (Straits Times 11 Dec 2001)(4).

  The Ministry of Education (MOE) said the number of students on its financial-help scheme has gone up from 3,714 last year to 5,304 this year. (Straits Times 10 Dec 2001)(H10)

  A 14-year-old boy died yesterday after falling while attempting a bicycle stunt on an obstacle ramp set up at the Ngee Ann Civic Plaza for the Asian Xtour competition. The competition, organised by ESPN Starsports, involves stunts and tricks performed on online skates, bicycles and skateboards. The Montfort Secondary two student's family declined to be interviewed last night when approached by The Straits Times at their home in Hougang. (Straits Times 8 Dec 2001)(3) Read our editorial

  The Singapore Management University (SMU) is inviting applications - until Jan 14 - for all its three degree courses. About 300 of the total 650 places are available for the early-admissions exercise. (Straits Times 6 Dec 2001)(H9)

  In three years' time, the Open University Degree Programme hopes to have 7,000 students pursuing qualifications in such areas as environmental science, design and innovation, as well as enterprise resource planning, and courses which combine subjects like psychology and business, and mathematics and management. It currently has about 5,000 students studying for about 18 degree courses, including mathematics, business, English, technology and computer science. The Open University, which began in 1994, is run by Singapore Institute of Management for working adults trying to get a basic degree through part-time study. (Straits Times 4 Dec 2001)(4)

  Come January, The Chinese High School will open the doors of a new condominium-style boarding house which will accommodate 1,200 students - almost three times the number in Hua Zhong Hostel, the 15-year-old facility it replaces. Boarders will be looked after by ten full-time and 34 part-time boarding masters. The 5-ha complex, consisting of seven six-storey blocks, was built at a cost of S$39.8 million. It will take in students from primary to post-graduate level, most of them foreigners. Boarders do not have to be enrolled at The Chinese High School. Room rates range from S$7,000 a year for a four-bedded room to S$10,000 for a single room. (Straits Times 29 Nov 2001)(4)

  Starting in 2003, bonus points from Institute of Technical Education students' CCAs will count for entry to polytechnics here, just as they have, since 1998, for school leavers with O levels. These bonus points will also count for admission to undergraduate programmes at the universities here from 2003. (Straist Times 28 Nov 2001)(H2)

  Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is going to China, the first of the three universities to do so. From next July, it will offer its executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme in Shanghai. Courses for this will be held at the downtown campus of its partner university, the Shanghai Jiao Tong, one of China's five top universities and Chinese President Jiang Zemin's alma mater. (Straits Times 24 Nov 2001)(H5)

  A new online university, called U21global, to be based in Singapore, will start offering courses from early 2003. It is a joint venture between Thomson Learning, an American-based company which runs courses for students across all ages and corporations, and Universitas 21, an international network of 18 research-intensive universities set up to exploit the higher-education market. (Straits Times 19 Nov 2001)(H10)

  The Education Ministry (MOE) yesterday denied grilling a primary-school pupil while it was investigating an accident in which his right eye was injured.It said in a statement issued yesterday: "They ahd been suggesting to Hon Liang what information should be given to the interviewer. This is not in order. In trying to establish the facts, the MOE was not 'interrogating' the student or shifting the blame for the incident onto the student."(Straits Times 18 Nov 2001)(5)

  Starting next year, the Ministry of Health will provide free dental services in secondary schools. By the end of enxt year, eight dental clinics will be completed. The first will be at Jin Tai Secondary School in West Coast Road. By 2006, 53 of the 157 government-funded secondary schools will get their own dental clinics, while 37 will share dental clinics with nearby primary schools. At present, only primary-school children enjoy free dental services at 185 school dental clinics islandwide and 42 per cent of secondary-school children have access to school dental clinics - at a primary school nearby.(Straits Times 17 Nov 2001)(H4)

  A Primary 1 pupil went for two operations when his right eye was damaged after he was hit by a door at his school, Marsiling Primary School. The boy, LIM Hon Liang, 7, told his parents a teacher opened the door as he was walking back to his classroom on Tuesday last week. (Straits Times 16 Nov 2001)(1)

  A new biology programme will be offered by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) next year. The university's school of biological sciences will take in its first batch of students for the four-year honours programme next July. For a start, the school will take in 100 students, but it will increase its intake steadily so that it can cater to up to 300 by the year 2004. On top of meeting the admission requirements, those who want to enter the programme must have an A Level passs in biology, chemistry or physics as well as mathematics, pure mathematics, applied mathematics or further mathematics. (Straits Times 12 Nov 2001)(H7)

  Starting November 2001, the Education Ministry will conduct a transfer exercise to help Primary 1 to 5 pupils who have moved into new neighbourhoods within the last two years find places in schools near their homes. However, parents will not have the final say on which primary school their child is posted to. This year, the annual exercise will be held from 26 - 28 Nov 2001. During the three days, parents should go to their child's present school to fill up an application form. On Dec 14, parents will be informed of the posting results by mail. They can also check the results with schools or through the Internet at www1.moe.edu.sg/, using their child's birth certificate number. All pupils will then have to report to their current schools on Dec 18 with their report books and go to their new schools by Dec 20 to complete the transfer. Only pupils who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents are eligible. (Straits Times 9 Nov 2001(H10)

  When sexuality education is introduced to upper primary school pupils next year, it will cover pornography on the Internet and warn them about the dangers of chatting on the Net. Last year, eight teenage girls were raped and two were molested by men whom they had met on the Internet or through telephone chatlines. In 1999, there were seven such cases. The programme will also allow Primary 5 and 6 pupils to discuss openly other topics in class, such as wet dreams, body odour and menstruation. The MOE introduced Sexuality Education to lower-secondary students last year. Previously, there was no formal structure to sexuality lessons conducted in schools. Programmes for upper-secondary students will be introduced next year, and in 2003, for students in junior colleges and centralised institutes.(Straits Times 7 Nov 2001) (H5)

  London: More than 40 private schools in Britain want the High Court to restore their right to cane students. Teachers must have the means to enforce discipline - now at a record low - said one headmaster. Caning was prohibited in Britain's fee-paying schools in 1999, and in state schools two years before that. (Straits Times 6 Nov 2001) (2)

  London: One of Britain's biggest teaching unions has issued a stern warning to parents that the film Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone could lead children into the sinister world of the occult. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said that the movie had visually realistic images of witchcraft and wizardry which could cause many children to take an unhealthy interest in the supernatural world. (Straits Times 5 Nov 2001) (9)

  Education Minister TEO Chee Hean yesterday said that less than 3 per cent of teachers left the service in the last five years, and if more students are going for psychiatric counselling, it is because the Government is encouraging this. He said it has pro-actively promoted the services of the Child Guidance Unit at the Institute of Health since 1997. Rather than an indication of extreme stress, the increased numbers at the unit meant that parents and teachers today are more aware of what guidance and counselling can do for children. More parents, he added, are prepared to send their children for such guidance. (Straits Times 1 Nov 2001)(H10)

  A 22-year-old kindergarten teacher died on Thursday after being stricken by a contagious blood disease. She is the second pre-school teacher to die of meningococcal meningitis in seven weeks. On Sept 4, a teacher at nanyang Kindergarten, 40-year-old Rosalind LIM Soo Chian, also died of the disease, which causes blood poisoning. Last night, an Environment Ministry (ENV) spokesman said several pupils who had close and prolonged contact with the teacher at Hong Kah West Education Centre were sent home immediately. (Straits Times 27 Oct 2001)(3)

  Boston: Less than four months after Harvard produced a record number of graduates with honours, professors at the Ivy League university have, for the first time, been asked to justify the grades that they give students. Launching its toughest examination yet of grade inflation, the university has set a January deadline for faculty members to explain their grading practices in writing. A committee will review the data and recommend whether grading changes should be considered. (Straits Times 25 Oct 2001) (15)

  The new Connect Plan, which aims to "encourage teachers to make teaching their long-term career" will take effect from Jan 1 next year, said Education Minister TEO Chee Hean yesterday after Parliament passed a Bill to put in place yet another incentive for teachers who stay in the profession. Under this plan, the Ministry of Education will put aside S$2,000 to S$4,800 every year for each teacher. The teacher may then draw out part of the money at defined points - every three to five years - during his career. Larger payouts will be made during the 15th year and nearer retirement. But those who resign will forfeit the rest of the accumulated sum.  (Straits Times 6 Oct 2001)(H13)

  A German university could soon be setting up a base in Singapore in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to offer courses in the high-tech field. The Technical University of Munich, the German partner in the venture, is holding final discussions with NUS, and the new institution will start offering courses from around the middle of next year. It will offer a master's degree course in industrial chemistry initially, taking in 40 students. Later, it will offer courses in financial mathematics, communications engineering, bio-engineering, and bio-technology, German Ambassador Volker Schlegel said in an interview on Monday. (Straits Times 5 Oct 2001)(H13)

  Nine out of 10 teachers here have at least one student with asthma in their classes. One in four teachers has at least four asthmatic students in his class. These and other findings were highlighted for the first time in a new and ongoing study involving 600 teachers from eight primary and six secondary schools here. One out of five children here has asthma. It is the second-most common reason for children being admitted to hospital, after accidents and injuries. Last year, 3,426 asthmatic children were hospitalised, compared to 3,872 children admitted for accidents and injuries. (Straits Times 4 Oct 2001)(4)

  Instead of starting their polytechnic education in July next year, secondary school leavers who apply to Temasek Polytechnic can start there in January, but only if they are taking one of four diploma courses and if they score no more than 21 points in their O-level preliminary examinations. The four courses are for diplomas in computer engineering, electronics, microelectronics and telecommunications. The polytechnic will take in a total of 200 students pursuing these diplomas in January 2002. (Straits Times 2 Oct 2001)(H4)

  According to the latest Education Ministry statistics, almost nine out of 10 of a Primary 1 cohort made it to post-secondary institutions - junior colleges, polytechnics and institutes of technical education - last year. Ten years ago, about 6 out of 10 did so. Chinese students led the pack, with nine out of 10 going on to post-secondary education. In 1991, about four in 10 Malay students went on to post-secondary education. Last year, it was seven to 10. It was the same for Indians. (Straits Times 2 Oct 2001)(3)

  An overwhelming majority of the 82 readers who wrote or e-mailed The Straits Times about Fajar Secondary School's caning of 41 male students supported the principal's decision to cane the boys for skipping tests in August 2001. And those 66 readers had this to add: Parents whose children break rules and misbehave in school should not be overly-protective or shield them from being punished. The 16 readers who objected to the caning said it was not the right way to discipline errant students. The boys, all Secondary 4 and 5 boys at the school in Bukit Panjang, were given two strokes each because they broke a school rule which states that students who skip classes will be caned. (Straits Times 1 Oct 2001)(H9)

  Last year alone, the four polytechnics - Singapore, Ngee Ann, Temasek and Nanyang - had about 40,000 working adults doing diploma, certificate and shorter courses on a part-time basis. Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the two more established institutions, had an average of about 15,000 part-timers each. Temasek had about 5,000, and Nanyang, the newest polytechnic, about 4,500. An average of about 13,000 full-time students are enrolled at each polytechnic. The polytechnics said the part-time students are working adults in their 20s and 30s and fall into three broad categories: ITE graduates seeking to upgrade their certificates to a polytechnic diploma, polytechnic graduates working towards advanced diplomas and university degree holders wanting to learn specific skills, such as web design. (Straits Times 1 Oct 2001)(H10)

  O-level commerce/commerce studies in secondary schools to be phased out

  Come 2005, National University of Singapore (NUS) students can study at five overseas colleges as part of an ambitious centennial plan to put the university on the world map. There will be two colleges in the United States, two in China and one in India. Each college will house between 200 and 300 students who will intern with companies and study in an affiliated university. At any one time, one in five NUS students - about 3,600 of them - will be overseas, either at the overseas colleges or on other exchange programmes. (Straits Times 18 Sep 2001)(3)

  Seedlings - a book showcasing the winning entries from the Singapore Student Literary Award 2001

  From 2003, the Art Elective and Music Elective grade at O level can also be used in place of a humanities subject for admission to the art and music elective programmes at junior college level. Schools which provide a varied and interesting arts programme will be recognised publicly. In two years, they can vie for the National Arts Council award worth S$10,000. Under the new enhanced arts education programme, schools can have an artist or theatre group in attendance and engage the artists to teach or supervise projects. Senior Minister of State for Education Aline WONG, who revealed the plans yesterday, said the new programme will develop an appreciation for the arts among students, who will make up the future arts audience. (Straits Times 12 Sep 2001)(H1)

  The two teenage girls who died after being hit by a bus on Sunday were Agnes TEO, 12, from Dunearn Secondary School and Aasta NG, 13, from Chua Chu Kang Secondary School. An SBS spokesman said that the driver, who joined the company in July, had been suspended. (Straits Times 4 Sep 2001)(1) 

  Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will start offering humanities electives to all students in the accountancy, business, engineering and mass communications programmes when it sets up a school of humanities in July next year. From July 2003, it will take in about 50 students yearly to study for degrees in the arts and social sciences, such as history and sociology. NTU president announced this in his opening address at the university's 10th convocation yesterday. (Straits Times 4 Sep 2001)(1)

  Temasek Polytechnic yesterday launched its e-THos (e-learning for Tourism and Hospitality) programme. It said this was South-east Asia's first hospitality diploma for working adults learning on the Web. Sixty students have signed up for the online course that will lead to a diploma in lodging and catering, or in travel and leisure. The polytechnic expects 3,000 to enrol over the next five years. (Straits Times 30 Aug 2001)(H8)

  A 15-year-old secondary school student was caught with illegal Ecstasy and Erimin-5 pills when her school's discipline mistress took a look in her schoolbag. The secondary 3 girl, who is in the Express Stream, brought the drugs to school in April after buying them from a man who offered them to her at a discotheque. She was sentenced to a year's probation at the juvenile court and ordered to serve 80 hours of community service. Her mother, a widow, was with her in court. Contacted yesterday, the school's principal said the girl, who came from a working-class family, was not considered an "at risk" student. (Straits Times 29 Aug 2001)(H3)

  London: A five-year-old boy has become the youngest person ever to pass the maths O-levels. Arran Fernandez scored a D at foundation level, the highest mark in that category. He sat for the two maths papers in June before his sixth birthday, beating the previous O-level record held by Rajaei Sharma, who was six when he sat for his information technology exam last year. (Straits Times 25 Aug 2001) (6)

  Pre-school children will have their eyes examined for short-sightedness as part of a nationwide programme to reduce the growing problem of myopia among children. With three in four Singaporeans myopic and more than a quarter of children suffering from the condition even before they enter Primary 1, short-sightedness has become a major concern. The Health Ministry is setting up a registry to track young children with myopia. Date from the School Health Service shows that one in three pupils in Primary 1 is short-sighted. By Primary 6, the figure is two to three pupils. (Straits Times 25 Aug 2001)(3)

  A 10-year-old girl committed suicide because she was stressed out with schoolwork, a coroner's inquiry heard yesterday. Lysher LOH Jia Hui, a top pupil at Bedok West Primary, jumped from the fifth storey of the Bedok Reservoir Road block where she lived on 25 Jun 2001, the day school reopened after the holidays. Lysher, who lived on the second storey, was found dead at the foot of the block at 6.10am, dressed in her school T-shirt and shorts. In recording a verdict of suicide, state coroner John NG said, "There is a need to let young people in Singapore know that failures and disappointments, particularly in their academic life, are part and parcel of growing up. They need to know that their worth is not tied to how well or how badly they do in their assessments or examinations." (Straits Times 22 Aug 2001) (3)

  Three new regional campuses for the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will be built over the next 15 years, which will enable it to increase enrolment by a third to 21,000 students. The first new campus will be built in Simei in the east and will be ready in 2005. The other two are in the north (ready 2015) and west (ready 2010). (Straits Times 22 Aug 2001)(1)

  According to a Straits Times survey which polled 341 Primary Six pupils from three schools to find out how they choose a secondary school, nearly six out of 10 - or 57 per cent - went by its O-level results. Proximity to home came a distant second. Only 18 per cent, or 61 pupils, said this was the most important factor. Only 7 per cent would choose a school because it was a value-added school, and only 6 per cent would base their choice on a school's co-curricular activities. Only 3 per cent said they would choose a school because their friends were going there. (Straits Times 20 Aug 2001)(H13)

  At the National Day Rally last night, Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong said the Government wants to up the proportion of Primary 1 students who go on to local university, from one in five to one in four, by 2010. This means raising the annual university intake by 4,000. With this goal in mind, Mr GOH said that, in principle, he supported the idea of setting up a fourth university, provided its graduates could meet the standards demanded by the economy. (Straits Times 20 Aug 2001)(H4)

  Premier boys' school Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) is lowering its entry score for feeder schools' pupils so that it can take in more of them, but the school board said that academic standards will not fall. ACS(I) is returning its cut-off point for feeder pupils from Anglo-Chinese Primary and Anglo-Chinese Junior to 235 from 240. (Straits Times 18 Aug 2001)(H3)

  Singapore urgently needs more now and a second medical school, said an international panel of medical experts. Singapore now has one doctor to 720 people, compared with one to 400 in the US and one to 600 in Britain. The panel also said that the current intake of 230 students may need to be redoubled in the next 10 years. The panel is also concerned that last year, half the doctors recruited by the public sector were trained overseas. So, there is compelling reason for a second medical school. But, if the Nanyang Technological University, which is keen on setting up a medical school, starts working on it today, it will take at least 10 years to do so, it noted. This is because NTU which is strong in engineering, does not teach the biological sciences, which should complement a medical school. (Straits Times 18 Aug 2001)(3)

  A first-year student at Catholic Junior College was yesterday sentenced to two years of probation, to perform 120 hours of community service and also to stay at home between 9pm and 6am after he pleaded guilty last month to hurting Cecil CHEN Pin Lin, 15, with a knife in an incident behind the Meridien Hotel at 10.15pm on 25 Nov 2000. The court heard that Sherman SOH Liang Wei, 16, and about 20 other youths began by taunting CHEN and four of his friends. SOH caught up with CHEN and grabbed him, then pressed a knife against his neck, leaving a 1-cm cut. (Straits Times 17 Aug 2001)(H8) 

  The Singapore Management University (SMU) will have a School of Economics and Social Sciences next year. The school - the university's third - will take in 50 students for a start and they will spend four years to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree, with Economics as its major. Its School of Business had an intake of 300 students last year, but is taking in 400 this year, from more than 2,000 applicants. Its School of Accountancy, which starts this year, has admitted 100 out of more than 600 applicants. Almost one in 10 SMU undergraduates is a foreigner, mainly from countries in the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, India and China. (Straits Times 13 Aug 2001)(1) 

  At the National University of Singapore (NUS), a new S$30 million building will be constructed to bring 350 life-science researchers under one roof. The man in charge of co-ordinating all research, funding and training activities is Professor John WONG, the vice-dean of the Faculty of Medicine at NUS and the chairman of the medical board at the National University Hospital. (Straits Times 8 Aug 2001)(H11)

  Economists from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Econometric Studies Unit (ESU) yesterday forecast that Singapore will recover from recession to grow by at least a healthy 4 per cent next year. (Straits Times  8 Aug 2001)(S12)

  Good performers in full-time national service will get points for entry into the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The two universities yesterday said they have accepted a recommendation made by an advisory committee which called for leadership and performance during NS to be recognised for university admission. The points will be added to those earned for co-curricular activities (CCA) in junior college, centralised institute or polytechnic.(Straits Times 7 Aug 2001)(1)

  Nanyang Technological University (NTU) last Tuesday launched a all-in-one website called iGEMS, or Gateway To Educational And Media Services, to let students, staff and alumni plug into its wide-ranging resources, including lecture notes, real-time news updates and databases, from anywhere in the world. The portal also offers a wide range of services, such as task reminders, an updated events calendar, chats and events registration. It also lets users customise content and layout. Students can log in with a single password when, before, they had to remember at least two. (Straits Times 6 Aug 2001) (H6)

  Hepatitis B vaccinations have been included in the National Childhood Immunisation Programme since 1987. But the majority of people aged over 13 years have not been immunised, meaning that only 28 per cent of 18- to 29-year-olds are immune to the disease. To address this problem, the School Health Service launched a four-year programme in February to vaccinate Secondary 3, second-year junior college and third-year centralised institute students. The scheme was extended yesterday to include students at the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities. By Apr 2002, the HPB hopes to reach some 110,000 students. (Straits Times 4 Aug 2001) (H5)

  The findings of a survey conducted between February and April 2001 by students of the Singapore Polytechnic's school of business show that 84 per cent of respondents said they read The Straits Times regularly. The New paper came in second with 58 per cent. The Sunday Times clinched third place with 48 per cent. The survey of 800 people aged 15 to 30 who were interviewed in the streets aimed to find out where young people get their news and what they think of the news sources. Two in five surveyed were students. Almost half said they preferred the print media, with 37 per cent choosing television, 8 per cent citing radio and 7 per cent preferring the Internet. (Straits Times 2 Aug 2001) (H4) 

  The Australian International School here will invest S$45 million in a new campus in Lorong Chuan that will have room for about 1,500 students. The move will be the third for the school, which started in February 1993 at Mount Sophia, then moved to Emerald Hill before settling at Ulu Pandan, in the former American School. It now has 1,250 students of 42 different nationalities. The new campus is expected to be completed by 2004. (Straits Times 1 Aug 2001) (H3)

  This year's three President's Scholars are XU Youfeng, 19, from Hwa Chong Junior College; LIM Xiuhui, 18, from Hwa Chong Junior College; and LIU Feng Yuan, 19, from Raffles Junior College. (Straits Times 1 Aug 2001)(4)

  The National University of Singapore (NUS) is setting up a 'college' in California's Silicon Valley to create the next SIM Wong Hoo. In January 2002, 10 NUS students with entrepreneurial drive will live for a year in the Californian home for high-tech industries. They will work as interns in technology start-ups and study entrepreneurship at Stanford University. By 2003, between 100 and 200 students will head for California, Boston and Shanghai for training every year. Those who are picked will be placed on a fast-track, five-year bachelor's and master's programme. They will leave for their training in their third year and return in the fourth. Their year overseas will be paid through scholarships from NUS, the Economic Development Board and private companies. (Straits Times 31 Jul 2001)(1)

  A 14-year-old girl fell from the ninth-storey parapet outside her flat in Block 296 Tampines Street 22 at about 11.15pm on Saturday. Wendy TAY Hwee Wen was taken to Changi General Hospital where she died about five hours later. She is believed to have stopped schooling recently. Police have classified the case as unnatural death. (Straits Times 30 Jul 2001) (4)

  A new Master of Science programme in environmental management, the first multi-faculty course to be established at the National University of Singapore (NUS), began this week. Seven faculties at NUS banded together to offer it. The programme takes a year to complete full-time or two years part-time. (Straits Times 28 Jul 2001)(H5)

  A Primary 5 pupil has accused a male teacher in her school of asking her to strip so that he could draw her in the nude. The incident allegedly happened on 14 Jul 2001 and the teacher is now on leave pending the outcome of a police investigation. The 11-year-old girl told the Malay-language Berita Harian newspaper that the incident happened near her school on a Housing Board block's staircase landing. (Straits Times 28 Jul 2001)(4)

  A high-level committee has said that Singapore definitely needs a fourth university which should have a strong practical and technical bent, room for at least 9,000 students and room to grow. It should offer degree programmes in engineering, info-communications technology and applied science, as well as foundation subjects, such as mathematics and science, along with courses in business and management. The committee made public its 13-page interim report yesterday. A major consideration, the report says, would be making it easy for National Technical Certificate, A-level and diploma holders, mature students, mid-career workers and foreigners to study full-time or part-time. (Straits Times 28 Jul 2001)(1)

  A study of almost 2,000 youngsters here found a direct link between myopia, work and genes which could account for Singapore's dubious reputation as the country with the highest rate of myopia in the world. The results of the study by the Singapore Eye Research Institute (Seri) and the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) were published recently in The Lancet. The study, which began in November 1999, tracks 1,900 children from Primary 1 till they reach Primary 6. It has so far shown a rapid increase in moderate myopia - meaning kids need spectacles powered to 300 degrees and more. (Straits Times 27 Jul 2001)(6)

  A new institute - the Logistics Institute, Asia Pacific - has been set up to help Singapore retain its position as a premier trading hub. It is situated at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Formed in collaboration with the top trade school in the United States, the Georgia Institute of technology, it will train logistics managers, conduct research and develop logistics engineering, technology and management programmes. The Singapore institute, will offer, among other initiatives, a dual Master of Science degree in logistics from both NUS and Georgia Tech, as the American institute is called usually. (Straits Times 25 Jul 2001)(H11)

  A Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student who was jailed for threatening to expose the sexual exploits of a 15-year-old girl he met in an Internet chatroom has been expelled from the university. The campus newspaper, The Nanyang Chronicle, reported the university's Office of Academic Services as saying that mechanical and production engineering student TAY We-Jin, 22, was "no longer a student" of the university. (Straits Times 24 Jul 2001)(H3)

  The Ministry of Education (MOE) is examining the feasibility of converting all primary schools to single session, said Education Minister TEO Chee Hean yesterday. There are about 200 primary schools now and the ministry may have to build another 50 more if it wants to go single-session in all schools. But, there will be fewer pupils, about 1,500 in each school. (Straits Times 22 Jul 2001)(22)

  Starting this year, students will be rewarded by the new Edusave Awards Scheme for achievements outside the classroom. Senior Minister of State for Education Dr Aline Wong announced the new awards yesterday. The Edusave awards honour students' leadership qualities, service to the community and excellence in non-academic activities. Students who represent their schools in competitions, exhibitions or performances are eligible for the Edusave leadership awards. For service awards, students must put in a minimum number of hours of service to the school or community in the Community Involvement Programme. The annual award, worth S$150 a student, is open to Singaporean students in government and government-aided schools, independent schools, centralised institutes, junior colleges and the Institute of Technical Education. Primary pupils will get S$120. Only those in Primary 4, 5 & 6 qualify. (Straits Times 21 Jul 2001)(4)  

  Get rid of exams, an academic proposed yesterday, adding that doing so is one way to encourage more creativity and create an education system more suited to a knowledge-based economy. Professor CHONG Chi Tat, the National University of Singapore (NUS) deputy vice-chancellor, made the radical suggestion at the Singapore Student Symposium at the regional Language Centre in Orange Grove Road. He was responding to a question on how the education system here can change to encourage innovation and creativity. (Straits Times 20 Jul 2001)(H2)

  Two mission schools have been given the green light to go autonomous this year. They are Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (PLMGS) at Lorong Ah Soo and St Anthony's Canossian Secondary in Bedok, Senior Minister of State (Education) Aline WONG announced yesterday. The two schools were the only ones to apply to go autonomous this year, raising the number of such schools to 22. (Straits Times 20 Jul 2001)(6)

  Arts & social sciences students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) can now specialise in subjects from outside their faculty. They can also study more subjects - up to five - in their first year. And these need not be ones they studied for their A levels. These extra choices are possible under a new scheme this academic year, which begins this month. The arts faculty is the first to implement it. The rest are likely to do so from next July. The 5,500 arts undergraduates make up the largest group of students in NUS, forming 30 per cent of its undergraduate population. (Straits Times 19 Jul 2001)(3) 

  Under the Health Ministry's new National Asthma Shared Care Programme, needy high-risk asthma patients may get subsidies for certain non-standard drugs to treat asthma. In Singapore, the illness hits one in five children, the highest in South-east Asia. There are about 140,000 Singaporeans with asthma. About 100 people here die from asthma each year. (Straits Times 18 Jul 2001)(6) 

  More students are opting to study higher Chinese at all levels, while few are going for the simpler Chinese Language B, Education Minister TEO Chee Hean told Parliament yesterday. The proportion of Primary 5 students opting for Higher CL rose from 22 per cent in 1999 to 25.7 per cent this year, while those taking up Higher CL in Secondary one went up from 15.5 per cent in 1999 to 16.5 per cent this year. (The Straits Times 12 Jul 2001) (H9)

  LONDON: Cambridge University has been accused of "dumbing down" after English students taking final-year examinations were asked to comment on lyrics written by the pop group, the Bee Gees. As part of a compulsory paper on tragedy, undergraduates were asked to discuss the lyrics from a song by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, instead of the writings of literary greats, such as Shakespeare. (Straits Times 9 Jul 2001) (3) 

  From next year, all Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students - whether in Business, Accountancy,  engineering or mass communication - will have to take entrepreneurship courses. In them, they will learn economics and the basics of starting and running a technology-based business. (Straits Times 9 Jul 2001) (3)

  From next year, the Institute of Systems Science (ISS), which is part of the National University of Singapore (NUS), will begin putting its lessons online.  It will also open its doors to non-graduates with non-IT skills. Under the extended scheme, the non-graduates will do some subjects in the programme and get certificates for them. This will help Singapore meet its target of 250,000-strong infocomm workforce by 2010, from a figure of about 100,000 now. (Straits Times 7 Jul 2001) (1)

  Former teacher Gilbert CHEE Boon San, 33, who is married, was yesterday given the maximum fine of S$500 for making a 12-year-old girl sit on his lap. He was spared a possible three-month jail sentence. District Judge Mavis CHIONH accepted lawyer Edmond PEREIRA's mitigation that CHEE had no other motive than to get the girl's attention and to persuade her to take part in a school project. (Straits Times 5 Jul 2001) (H2)

  President's Young Performer Series: Keegan NG (piano) from Victoria School at Victoria Concert Hall on 13 & 14 Jul 2001.

  A sports school, to be headed by Anglican High School principal MOO Soon Chong, will open its doors in 2003, said Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong yesterday. (Straits Times 2 Jul 2001)

  All Primary Six students say goodbye to BCG vaccination, which has been discontinued for 12 year olds from 1 Jul 2001.